Picking up new habits can be a difficult task, which is why numerous popular methods exist to help you manage it. If you regularly find yourself realizing that your plan to take a daily morning run is actually more like a once-a-month guilt-ridden excursion, then it’s clear you need to try a new method. Perhaps the Jerry Seinfeld chain method will be able to help you along your way.

Now, merely choosing a plan of attack isn’t enough. You need to be able to keep track of your progress, remind yourself of your goals and find a way to prove to yourself that you’re on track. In this day and age, the perfect solution is to use a smartphone app. If you’re an Android user, the app to try is Habit Streak Pro. Grab it now before you make resolutions for the new year.

How to Form a Habit

Pick up the Habit Streak Pro application from Google play for 3€. Or, if you’re a little unsure, you can check out the free version first. The Pro version is visually much improved and can import from the free version. It’s also a smaller app, though neither is large and both can be put on the SD card. Pro also lets you access a past streak graph, widgets and fine tune control over corrections.

What Is The Jerry Seinfeld Chain Method?

The Jerry Seinfeld chain method of how to form a habit is to make a note of each day you achieve your goal. Visually, you’ll see the chain on the calendar and psychologically you’ll want to maintain it.

“After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain” – Jerry Seinfeld.

Habit Streak Pro then takes this method a step further by prompting you to record your progress each day. This in turn serves as a reminder if you haven’t yet done it. It also lets you keep track of several new habits at once.

Using Habit Streak Pro

It’s really easy to get started with Habit Streak Pro. You begin with a blank list, which lets you add a few new habits you’d like to form. For each habit, you need to give a brief title and a question which you can answer yes or no to each day, such as “Did you ride your bike to work today?” or “Did you clean your office desk today?”. You’ll also need to choose a time to be reminded about your goals.

From then on, once a day you’ll be prompted to answer a series of quick questions about your goals and daily achievements. Then, whenever you want to check out how well you’re doing you can view the habit list. Your successful habit streak will change colour as the days pass and will be compared to your previous best streak. You’ll also see your overall success rate.

Forming Great Habits

If you’re serious about forming new habits then you probably want to ensure you get the best app for your purposes. While Habit Streak Pro is awesome, you may find you have more luck with a different app or a combination of several apps, especially if your goals are fitness based. So, check out these alternatives you can try:

Yeah, this method works for developing new habits, but is not such a great one for getting rid of old bad habits. If you want to, say, brush your teeth twice a day then this app will remind you about it and keep track of how many times you did it.